1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to powered thatching machines and particularly powered thatching machines that use bristle elements for the thatching.
2. Description of Related Art
Power thatching machines have been used for years to groom lawns. Typically, thatching is done in the spring and involves removing as much of the old grass as possible. Thatching should also work to loosen and aerate the soil. Originally, thatching was done by hand using rakes. This process in strenuous at best. Raking is also not the best way to loosen the soil. To make the work easier, several devices have been developed to be used in combination with power drive units, such as lawn mowers. In these devices, the blade of the mower is removed and a new “blade” arm is added. The blade arm has some type of device attached that rakes the ground while the mower is operating. Typically, these devices use metal tines, similar to those found on rakes, to thatch the lawn. Although effective, these metal tines tend to dig excessively into a lawn. If these devices are used improperly, the lawn can suffer severe damage.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,661,962, I disclosed a device for thatching laws that used a set of brushes mounted on a blade arm. The brushes thatch a lawn by “combing” the lawn surface instead of digging into the lawn. Consequently, the lawn suffers no damage from the process. The action of the brushes also works to loosen the soil, which is an additional benefit of the process.